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Ex-dealer tells of drugs hell

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By Fiona Reid
Annan and Eskdale
Ex-dealer tells of drugs hell

“THERE are no friends in drugs” — the words of a convicted dealer who this week exposed the realities of life with drugs.

DRUGS HELL . . . posed model

Speaking as Mr D, he opened up exclusively to this newspaper publisher about his crime filled past. The dad-of-one is in his 30s and currently lives in Lockerbie.

He suffers from bad health and last year turned to selling drugs to supplement his income. Having dabbled in drugs for years, he says it was easy to establish himself.

He said: “Drugs are everywhere, everyone takes them, even the people out there with great jobs – they’re taking them too.

“It’s supply and demand, it was really easy to get established. Drugs area bigger problem in this area than people think.”

He ridiculed the ‘common misconception’ that selling drugs is seen as an ‘easy way out’ – saying that nothing could be further from the case.

He said: “I didn’t realise it would turn out to be such  a hard job.

“There’s no off switch, no wind down time. Your phone is always on, waiting fo r acall.

“The amount of effort you need to put in to make sure that: one, you don’t get robbed; two, you don’t get raided; and three, you don’t end up taking all the drugs yourself is unbelievable.”

However, ultimately MrD started taking more and more of his own product – cocaine-and he said: “You never ever really see all your share of the money, you’ve sold it on tick, you start taking it.

The whole time you’re just chasing it, chasing a fantasy that you can make money, take them and not get caught.”

But being caught by police wasn’t his biggest fear – far from it. He said: “Being robbed was my biggest worry, no one would believe you, they’d think you sold it or used it. I’ve been robbed is everyone’s excuse.

“Being caught by police was a relief. It was an absolute total relief. It’s bad getting raided but because it’s the police you’re not getting attacked, it’s above aboard, you’re safe.

 

“And it was a relief as far as I’m concerned because there were no drugs there to lure me in.. .I was out.”

After pleading guilty in court, Mr D narrowly escaped a prison sentence but was given community service.

Reflecting on the sentence, he said: “I definitely needed to be punished, I shouldn’t have got away with it, which I didn’t, but in prison I might have met worse people, then when I’m out I’d have nothing.”

Sharing the worst part of dealing, he said: “I didn’t trust anyone. The paranoia is high, you think people are either with you to spend your money or so they can get drugs. There are no friends in drugs, full stop.

“I definitely wouldn’t do it again, never. Everything becomes a paranoia.”

And showing crime literally does not pay, he said: “I’ve got nothing to show for it but community service and supervision time. I didn’t get big TVs or flash cars,I got worry and fake pals.

“The day I got caught, the only money I had to my name was my giro money.”

“Drugs are for mugs, people say it all the time but it’s true.”

Looking to the future, Mr D now hopes to concentrate on completing his community service and getting a paid job.

He hopes speaking openly about his experience will deter others from a life of drug crime.

 

 

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